knocker

American  

[nok-er] / ˈnɒk ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that knocks.

2. a hinged knob, bar, etc., on a door, for use in knocking.

3. Informal. a persistent and carping critic; faultfinder.

4. Slang: Vulgar. a female breast.

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idioms

1. on the knocker, canvassing or selling door-to-door.

knocker British  

/ ˈnɒkə /

noun

1. an object, usually ornamental and made of metal, attached to a door by a hinge and used for knocking

2. informal a person who finds fault or disparages

3. slang (usually plural) a female breast

4. a person or thing that knocks

5. informal promptly; at once

   you pay on the knocker here

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Etymology

Origin of knocker

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; knock, -er ¹

Example Sentences

"Stay close to Troy or they gonna think you're a knocker."

From Salon • Aug. 21, 2021

“I’m a short knocker, but that Roberts hit the ball a mile. They knew they had the tournament in the bag, so they played like a couple of hackers on the 18th.”

From Golf Digest • Apr. 21, 2020

Marley lives in an Escher-like dwelling with, of course, a very striking knocker, familiar to readers of “A Christmas Carol,” which Clinch renders newly macabre: It hangs “silent as an empty gibbet.”

From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2019

From there, I was ushered into a small antechamber with a large door and a foreboding, old-school knocker.

From The Verge • Dec. 5, 2018

Several men hopped out and rapped the elephant-head knocker at the front door.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield